Bowra Station, QUeensland

The birders I'm close with know that I've had the twitching goal of cracking 600 species for my Australian list by the time I'm 25 years old. Now at the ripe old age of 24, I'm sitting at the grand total of 557 species with a mere 9 months left to tick off a further 44 species. Seemingly very achievable, but being a Melbournian, the closest targets I have left are on offshore islands and in the outback between the middle of nowhere and cooee. So it was time to get the Mazda 2 serviced, charge up the camera batteries, polish the binoculars and head to the southwest corner of Queensland to the birding mecca of Bowra Station.

Bowra Station is one of Australia's premier birding locations based just out of Cunnamulla in the heart of Queensland's Mulga Lands bioregion. Over 200 bird species have been recorded on this 14,000ha site including over a dozen threatened or endangered species. It is a hotspot for inland wildlife and has earned a reputation as one of the countries most rewarding birdwatching sites. Bowra is open to the public from March-October and receives over 300 visitors annually. Those wishing to stay or find out more should visit the Australian Wildlife Conservancy website.

Clancye and I left Melbourne on Sunday July 3rd and spent the night at Jerilderie, NSW. On Monday we travelled the rest of the way (920km!) to Cunnamulla, QLD. We saw some excellent species along the drive including Peregrine Falcon, Apostlebird, Grey-crowned Babbler, Eastern Bluebonnet, Australian Bustard, Major Mitchell's Cockatoo and Brolga. Finally at 4.30pm we pulled up to the gates at Bowra Station, about 16km north/west of Cunnamulla.

Straight away on entry I was blown away by quality and quantity of birdlife, even in the heart of winter. On the drive from the gate to the homestead we saw good numbers of Black-faced Woodswallow, White-winged Fairywren, Emu, Chestnut-crowned Babbler and Hooded Robin. Pulling into the homestead I scored Lifer #1 for the trip - Spotted Bowerbird. They would prove to be a common species of the trip, particularly around the homestead. We soon discovered a bower located near the cottage - adorned with shells, stones, nails and various white collectables. It was an excellent start to the trip!

Spotted Bowerbird

Bower

Black-faced Woodswallow

At 6pm we joined in the daily bird call where we met the current volunteer managers Bob and Jean Wallac as well as the other birders we were sharing the Shearer's Quarters with - Craig Nieminski, Robert Crack and Kirk. It was a great opportunity to hear about where some of the birds were currently being seen on the property. With the Spotted Bowerbird out of the way, I had another 8~ targets. Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrush, Hall's Babbler, Bourke's Parrot, Red-winged Parrot, Pied Honeyeater, Crimson Chat, Red-chested Buttonquail and Chirruping Wedgebill. With some local gen and information direct from the source we had an early night and prepared for an early morning start.

For day one, the basic plan was to target the Hall's Babbler and Chestnut-breasted Quailthrush - allegedly the two toughest birds on sight. I'd had mixed experiences with various Quailthrush species before and knew how tedious they can sometimes be to track down. Knowing this, we headed to one of their regular haunts towards the northern end of the station. Stony Ridge (see map below) is a large area of Mulga across undulating stone/gravel rises - ideal habitat for the aforementioned species. We pulled up at a spot I thought looked pretty good about halfway up a slope right on sunrise at 7.00am. Immediately as we stepped out of the car I heard a faint 'seeeeep' contact call from the scrub adjacent to the car. It was the quailthrush calling only metres away! Clancye and I crept slightly down the ridge edging closer to the calling bird. Suddenly we heard the full blown piping whistle call from across the road and realised that we had clearly stumbled upon a little hotspot! Now it was just a matter of getting a visual!

Creeping up towards the first bird suddenly Clancye spotted a flash along the ground. Sure enough it was an outstanding male Chestnut-breasted Quailthrush - Lifer #2! He looked us and we looked back before he continued on his way trying to find the other bird calling across the road. For the next 20 minutes we had stunning views of this superb little wonder as he poked around calling, feeding and running around the Mulga. We eventually also flushed a third bird about 200 metres further down the road. Hard to do much better than that!

Now it was time for the other 'tough bird' - the Hall's Babbler. I was pretty keen for this species as it would complete my 'babbler set' for Australia having already ticked off White-browed, Chestnut-crowned and Grey-crowned in the past. The Hall's Babbler tend to favour similar habitat to the Chestnut-breasted Quailthrush with a preference for dense mulga scrub, though they can also be found in gidgee. Today we decided to continue searching Stony Ridge and eventually work our way further NW to the Tablelands if necessary. Interestingly, the Hall's Babbler wasn't recognised as a full species until the early 1960's and was once considered a subspecies to the superficially similar White-browed Babbler. The main identification differences include a broader white brow with a black mask through its dark eye as well as a white bib with a defined edge on the breast. Their calls and habitat preference can also assist in identifying this species over White-browed. Even armed with that knowledge and a few hours of searching both the Stony Ridge and Tablelands area - this species remained frustratingly hidden.

Soon we were back on the main road slight east of Stony Ridge when we bumped in Bob & Jean doing their daily run through the station. We stopped to chat and they informed us they were just looking at a small group of Hall's Babblers! We leapt from the car and sure enough there they were calling vivaciously from the scrub next to the road. I quickly crossed the road and entered the brush, but to my surprised the birds immediately sounded a further 10 metres away. So I quickly jogged up and once again, they had moved on considerably further. Soon, I was sprinting just trying to keep up with the party but in a matter of moments they had disappeared! This was proving to be a very hard bird just to even get a glimpse of! A quick look skywards revealed a soaring Black-breasted Buzzard, but it wasn't quite compensation enough for the extremely agile and secretive babblers.

Around midday we headed to the Saw Pits Waterhole with the aim of targeting Bourke's Parrot and perhaps a few more of the local highlight species. Unfortunately we had only gone about half the distance when the poor Mazda 2 got bogged on the side of the road. We were stuck for a while before eventually we managed to get free of the mud. It could have been worse, at least we were accompanied by Ground Cuckooshrike, Major Mitchell's Cockatoo and Brolga whilst digging knee deep in the mud.

Brown Falcon

Mulga Parrot

Black-breasted Buzzard

Finally free of the mud, we headed into Cunnamulla to grab some supplies for meals over the next few days. On the way out of Bowra, we suddenly struck gold and discovered an area bustling with bird life. A quick look into the trees revealed Lifer #3 - Red-winged Parrot! Another wonderful bird and a serious hole in my Australian list, particularly after several trips across Queensland in the past. On the ground a large flock of 30+ Double-barred Finch whizzed through the grasses whilst Red-rumped Parrot, Eastern Bluebonnet and Mulga Parrot fed in a loose flock. I raised my bins and gasped as the first bird I saw was a brilliant Bourke's Parrot - Lifer #4! We got out of the car and stalked the birds as they continued to feed. Suddenly the arrival of a Brown Falcon sent everything flying including our target birds - but thankfully they landed briefly in a nearby tree for a quick photographed.

Later that afternoon it was time to track down what is quickly become my ultimate Aussie bogeybird - Crimson Chat. I have chased this species over a dozen times in Victoria, throughout the outback of South Australia and in the deserts of southern Northern Territory. Never have I even come close to nailing this frustratingly common inland species - but that was all about to change, or so I hoped!

​The previous day, Rob and Kirk had photographed a pair of birds at the waterhole situated just south of the Homestead along the Homestead Circuit. I had done my research and noted that only 4 days before our arrival a flock of 20 had been seen most days in roughly same area also. I had high hopes and was ready to finally put this species to rest.

​Setting off south, we birded at the waterhole for over an hour, checking every little passerine but only turning up Southern Whiteface, Chestnut-rumped Thornbill and Zebra Finch. There were still some excellent species around including Little Eagle, Hooded Robin and Restless Flycatcher but the chats seemed to be nowhere in sight.

​With only 2 hours left of daylight, I set off on a solo trip further south towards the Airport Track that runs off Homestead Circuit. There were numerous Crested Bellbird, Apostlebird, Pied Butcherbird and Yellow Thornbill but still not chats. Eventually I conceded yet another defeat and returned to the Homestead. In the 14 hours we had birded that day, we had rocked up a commendable tally of 70 species including 3 new lifers!

Bourke's Parrot

Restless Flycatcher

Red-winged Parrot

Day 2 and we were up again before dawn this time with our companions Craig, Rob and Kirk. They were desperate to see the Chestnut-breasted Quailthrush so I had promised to show them where we found our birds the previous day. Thanks to Clancye's keen eye we once again got a pair at a similar location towards Stony Ridge and we all left pretty happy. Unfortunately despite another 2 hours in the area, we once again dipped on the Hall's Babbler. Going off advice from Bob and Jean we headed back towards where we had chased the group through the scrub the previous day. For the next 3 hours I scoured the dense mulga only turning up Red-capped Robin, Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Singing Honeyeater, White-fronted Honeyeater, Splendid Fairywren and impressive numbers of Chestnut-rumped Thornbill.

As I returned to the car suddenly I heard it - that ebullient ecstatic chattering of the Hall's Babbler. This time I was determined not to loose them, so I crept up with some speed to where the sound was coming from and finally caught a glimpse of a quartet chasing each other through the bushes. Hall's Babbler TICK! Lifer #5 done and dusted! I spent the next 10 minutes with the family before grabbing Clancye who was keen to have a look. We also discovered a nest and marvelled as a dozen birds would quickly file in and then out again of this seemingly tiny structure. Soon we left them in peace, extremely satisfied to have finally caught up with this species after a great deal of searching.

Hall's Babbler

Red-capped Robin

Apostlebird

After grabbing a quick bite to eat, Clancye and I hit the road and headed towards Thargomindah about 190km west of Bowra Station. The habitat here becomes even more arid - covered with Mulga and Gilgee woodland alongside open country with lignum, eremophila and scattered shrubs - excellent habitat for 3 more of my target species - Crimson Chat, Chirruping Wedgebill and Pied Honeyeater. Recent reports had found acceptable numbers of both Crimson Chat and Pied Honeyeater in the area whilst some local gen and eBird provided a few spots to look for the Wedgebill.

We soon arrived at the 'wedgebill' site and before I turned off the car I played Clancye the distinctive song so she knew what to listen out for. It's song is most distinctive and musical, though not as melodic as the sensational Chiming Wedgebill which performs a perfect descending major pentatonic scale. With the Chirruping song stuck in our heads, we opened the car door and were immediately greeted by the same sound I had been playing only seconds before! A quick look into the opposing shrubs and there sat a Chirruping Wedgebill, singing us a welcome I shall not easily forget! Lifer #6 in the bag!

Further west the terrain turned even more rugged and we found ourselves stopping frequently to bird sporadically at any place we thought warranted a little exploration. Unfortunately we dipped on Crimson Chat and Pied Honeyeater but we did see Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo, Collared Sparrowhawk, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Brolga, White-necked Heron, Australian Bustard, Bourke's Parrot, Eastern Bluebonnet, Mulga Parrot, Spotted Bowerbird, Black-faced Woodswallow, White-winged Triller, Hooded Robin as well as Red Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Common Wallaroo.

Australian Bustard

Emu

Hooded Robin

Our last afternoon and following morning was spent searching once again for Crimson Chat around the Homestead Waterhole and down towards the Airport Track. Despite many hours searching, this species once again avoided being found. The wildlife however did not disappoint and the weather and company continued to be perfect. Clancye and I left Bowra very satisfied stopping in Cunnamulla for a final stock up before starting the long journey south. A final birding highlight was discovering the huge Fairy Martin colony that had taken up residency under the eaves of the old bank in the main street. With some photographs taken and a full tank of gas we travelled down through Bourke (NSW) where we enjoyed lunch along the river with Red-tailed Black Cockatoo. The following morning we departed Griffith whilst marvelling at multiple flocks of Superb Parrot and Cockatiel. I returned to Melbourne on the grand total of 563 for Australia. With an upcoming trip to Darwin and the Christmas Island/Cocos Keeling later this year - I think the 600 Club milestone will be coming up very soon! (with or without that pesky Crimson Chat!)